Dieudonné sentenced to six months of electronic monitoring for apology of terrorism
Polemicist Dieudonné M'Bala M'Bala has been sentenced for apology of terrorism and insult towards Laurent Nuñez. The prosecution had sought one year of imprisonment.
Verdict after three months of waiting: electronic monitoring for Dieudonné
Dieudonné M'Bala M'Bala has been sentenced to six months under electronic monitoring for "apology of terrorism" and "public insult" towards Laurent Nuñez, according to midilibre.fr. The verdict was handed down on Thursday 17 September, exactly three months after the Paris prosecution's submissions.
The polemicist had been tried in June for two series of publications on his X account, dating from 2024 and 2025. The prosecutor had sought one year of imprisonment, a fine of 20,000 euros and three years of ineligibility, citing a "logic of reiteration".
A video posted on 7 October 2024
The first charge concerns a two-minute video published on 7 October 2024 on X — the anniversary date of the Hamas attack on Israel. In this sequence, Dieudonné denounced "the chains of continuous propaganda" that would make this day "the day of all horrors", before describing it instead as a date that was "wonderful, extraordinary, magical", specifying that it was his daughter's birthday anniversary.
At the hearing, his lawyer pleaded "dark humour". Dieudonné himself presented himself as "a comedian. I am neither a politician, nor an intellectual, nor a sociologist."
Insult towards the police prefect
The second charge concerns a video addressed to Laurent Nuñez, then police prefect of Paris. Dieudonné had addressed him in crude terms, inviting him to "show (his) balls" in order to "talk to each other". The polemicist had justified this intervention by the fact that one of his performances had just been banned for him.
Before the court, he stated: "My universe is one of derision, witty remarks, and sometimes bad taste. But I could not help but address him." He had also claimed to have become "despite himself the chemical indicator of freedom of expression".
The defence requested acquittal
Me Karim Laouafi, the defence lawyer, pleaded for acquittal, arguing that the charges were only brought because of the identity of the defendant: "If it were not Dieudonné, no one would have been prosecuted for this."
At the time of the trial in June, Dieudonné was on conditional release, having served a sentence arranged under electronic monitoring. According to 20 Minutes, this conviction is the 35th of his judicial career.
Source: Google News LU FR